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“I never wanted that?—
“Then why did you treat me like garbage?” she snarls when she whips her head around.
Because I was a foolish boy who liked you and didn’t know how to handle it. “Because I was a stereotypical rich kid who was an asshole to everyone.”
She studies me for a moment. The snarl is gone from her voice, replaced by ice. “You and I are little more than strangers, Anderson. So, if you lie to me, so be it. But don’t lie to yourself, too.”
“I am being honest.”
“Not even close. If you think you were an asshole to everyone, then you’re wrong.” June Devlin has not only grown more beautiful over the years but also more baffling.
“Being an expert on myself, I must say you’ve read me wrong. I made it my mission to be an asshole to everyone at school. I’m surprised you don’t remember that. You, of all people, should.”
She stares into my eyes and says, “Kalen Black.”
How does she even know about that? I force myself not to react. “What’s that? A new Porsche color?”
“Don’t. Don’t play the role of the rich playboy with me. I know about what you did for Kalen. How you found out about his family being unable to pay for his tuition, how you got your father to secretly pay for it, and how your father made you work the entire summer after graduation to repay him, all so Kalen could graduate on time. You missed an extravagant trip to Paris with your snooty friends because of working for your dad that summer.” She knows everything. But how?
I mumble, “Not just Paris. Athens and Rome, too.”
“So telling me you were just some cliched, asshole, rich kid is a lie. Telling yourself that story is delusional.”
“How do you even know about all that?”
She flashes a wicked smile, and god, the curve of her lips sends a throb through me that is hard to deny. June slyly says, “I might be poor compared to you, but I still have my resources.”
It helps that the sheet clings to her breasts like custom lingerie. Her smirk, her tits, knowing she’s naked under there, it’s all enough to make me hard. I shift in my seat to relieve the pressure, but it doesn’t work, so I get up and pace with my back to her. Can’t let her see how much she affects me. “You shouldn’t know this. Kalen doesn’t even know who did it.”
“No. He doesn’t. I never told him.”
“So—'
“Since I’ve proved you weren’t the self-centered asshole you pretended to be, tell me the truth for once in your life, Anderson. Why were you cruel to me?”
I can’t do that. The thought of telling her the truth makes my erection die. If I tell her, then she holds all the cards in this, and I am not one to give someone else the upper hand. Ever. So, I face her and shrug. “Why not?”
Her face twists into something like rage given human form. “Why not? That’s all it took for you to make my life a living hell? A whim?”
“Can’t we just chalk it up to me being an asshole kid who didn’t understand what he was doing at the time?” Because I sure as hell didn’t. Not really.
“No! You knew exactly what you were doing!”
“Truly, I did not. I was fifteen! How could I have known how much this would haunt you?—"
“We were surrounded by anti-bullying PSAs! It was everywhere in school! You weren’t as smart as me, but you were smart enough to read the signs!” As she shouts, her breasts heave with every word, and I know I was trying to make a point a minute ago, but damn if I can remember it. She snaps her fingers. “Are you even in there?”
“Uh, yeah. Look?—"
“No, you look. Tell me why you helped Kalen.”
“We’re back on that?”
She stares up at me. “I’m waiting.”
Another uncomfortable memory. “He didn’t deserve not to graduate on time. Our private school was small. It didn’t feel right for the rest of us to graduate without him. He was a good kid, and he worked hard. Just needed a break.”
“He wasn’t your friend. You didn’t know him. So, I ask again. Why?”
